Carrying a Melody
by electrogirl88
Summary: Stuck on a planet all alone, Melody has raised herself. At the same time she has been a guardian secretly to a family. She's dedicated herself to the women of the family and nothing else. But what happens when she finds her own kind? BeexOc
1. Jo and Melody

_Time lasts forever. It never stops, never slows down, never pauses. It is always there and it is never ending, never giving one a break. When one is in a place unknown though, it seems that time pauses. For just a few moments time will stop, and let one figure out how they will survive. Even with those few moments though, one don't know what to do. Truth is they survive, with or without a plan. That's life, it's unexpected._

"Alright class, make sure you're prepared tomorrow. Be ready for a quiz because you will most likely have one!" Mr. Home told us right before the bell rang. My eyes swept over everyone as they darted for the door, and towards their freedom. I let out a sigh as I silently gathered my stuff and followed after. What I'd give to have the crave for that freedom.

People bustled and shouted through the halls, as they gather books from their lockers and chatted with friends. No one looked at me, or even noticed me; the fact that I kept my head down, and to myself, didn't help my situation. I was different than everyone else, and no matter what that was never going to change.

As I pushed my way outside I was blinded by the sun for a few seconds. The rays of heat rolled over my skin; the heat felt good, but at the same time it was an irritation. All around people were prepared for the heat; boys in shorts, girls in shorts and skimpy tops. Even though it wasn't really necessary I kept up with the styles, but I was a little more modest. I wore jeans with torn up holes in them, a read t-shirt, and shiny necklaces. Don't ask why, but I had a thing for necklaces.

Walking across the courtyard, I swept my hair up into a high ponytail and saw Jo sitting on my _bike_. Two people were standing with her, a boy and a girl, and were talking to her. It's not that it bothered me that they were talking to her, it just made me a little nervous. People usually didn't socialize with us.

"This is a pretty sweet bike you got here!" I heard the boy state as I came closer, I couldn't help but smirk at his comment. It made me feel proud.

"It's actually not mine. It belongs to my friend. Isn't that right, Melody?" Jo questioned, drawing attention to me unfortunately. As soon as the two people talking to Jo turned around I knew who they were. It was Sam Witwicky and Mikaela Banes. I'd had a few classes with them, but I don't think they've ever noticed me.

"So this is your bike?" Mikaela asked me, as a response I just nodded. It was obvious that she wanted me to say something, instead of just a gesture, but I wasn't doing anything else for a response. "What kind of bike is it? I've never seen it before."

"It's a 2009 Honda CBR1000RR," I answered her, she just nodded her head before turning back to Jo. Sam and Mikaela both engaged in a longer conversation with her as I just stood off to the side. Glancing around I saw that the student body had moved from inside the school to outside. A certain group of boys caught my attention as I saw them looking our way. Almost instantly a glare appeared on my face as I stepped closer to Jo. Sam, Mikaela, and Jo looked at me weird until they noticed what I was looking at. The three of them stiffened in an second. "I suggest we leave before they decide to approach us."

"Yeah, we'll see you later," Sam said, as he grabbed Mikaela's hand and hurried towards his car.

"Bye!" Mikaela yelled, while Sam continued to pull her along. Jo and I didn't move until we made sure they were safe in their car and on their way. In a flash Jo had her arms wrapped around me as I jumped on my bike, and flying out of the parking lot. We didn't say a word to each other as I drove. I knew she wanted to say something, but she wasn't speaking up.

The wind whipped our hair around as I sped down streets and around corners. There wasn't anyone around who drove as fast or as recklessly as me, but no matter what I did Jo trusted me and would hop right on my _bike_. She would always say she felt safe with me, and knew I wouldn't let anything happen to her. Sometimes I didn't understand the girl.

Turning the corner sharp, I pulled onto the street where we lived and pulled into the driveway. When I came to a stop Jo hopped off and ruffled her hair a little. She turned back to me, ignoring my frown, and took my backpack from me. Over the years she had learned how to ignore me. It was an art she taught herself and was good at.

"You really should wear a helmet you know."

"You say that everyday, and yet nothing changes," Jo stated, with a smirk on her face as she lugged my bag over one of her shoulders. There was nothing in it, but it looked like there was.

"Eventually you're going to wear a helmet. Now do your homework and study. Make sure you feed yourself too!" I told her sternly as she walked away. She just waved at me over her shoulder and walked into the house, mumbling something about me acting like her mother. I heightened my hearing senses to make sure she locked the door. I did my best to hide the fact that I would always listen to the deadbolt lock, but I'm pretty sure Jo knew.

With a quick blink of my eyes my bike came to life and I was flying out of the driveway and down the road. It felt so good to just drive and forget everything. The feel of the engine rumbling beneath me, wind whipping around me, taking corners sharp and the feel of cement against tires; this was my time of freedom. My time when everything else is forgotten and I am at peace, not just some stranger in a crowd.

My time of peace and freedom also came to me when I worked at the shop, my boss's mechanic shop. Fixing cars, or working with any piece of machinery, put me at ease. Whenever I was upset, or didn't know what to do, I would come to this shop and just work. Jo knew my situation, knew my secret, and she'd left me here for days because she knew it was just the type of healing I needed. Healing was just the thing I needed today. For today was just one of those days that I was feeling lonely on this large planet called earth.

Pulling into the shop I noticed that every garage had a car pulled in and parked. It was a sight that wasn't seen very often and took me by surprise. When my boss, Dave, saw me pull up he was by my side in a flash. For an old man he sure did get around and take everyone by surprise at least once. In the time span of a whole minute Dave told me that three of the four cars here didn't need to be worked on, that he had to take off because his wife was in the hospital, and that he was getting paid big bucks to fix the only damaged vehicle in the garage. Before any questions could be asked he was in his car, flying down the road, and telling me not to screw up. I gave myself a second to let this information sink in before I finally made my way into the garage.

Instantly my eyes landed on the dented, smashed, hunk of junk Pontiac Solstice. This was the first time I saw such damage on such a nice car. For a few seconds I was saddened as I put my hand on the hood. My sadness confused me, but I just let my eyes roam over the vehicle.

I looked at the rest of the vehicles in the garage. Next to the Solstice was a black and very large GMC Topkick. There was a fine layer of dust on the Topkick, but I could just imagine it barreling down the road with a clean sheen to it. It seemed like could look like a very menacing truck. Next to the Topkick was a cleaner looking Hummer H2, but it was obviously used for medical purposes. The lights on top of it reassured the Hummer's purpose. Finally at the very end of the line of cars was a Peterbilt 379 with red flames on its blue body. It was rather large and took up a lot of space. I definitely wouldn't want to be facing this thing head on, on the road.

For some reason, walking around the garage felt awkward as I gathered different tools. There was an uneasy tingling in my spine that made me look around to see if anyone was there; but there was no one in sight. With a sigh I began my work.

Through the evening and well into the night I worked. I took apart the little Pontiac and put it back together. Parts were replaced and wire were rerouted. For anyone else they would have been dripping in sweat from all the lifting and rearranging, but not me. I was just covered in a light sheen of sweat. My bodily habits couldn't even be the same as everyone else's.

"You know you could have told me you weren't coming home," I heard Jo say, in a flash I slammed my head against the hood. A grown escaped me as I ducked out from the car and turned to Jo. She had taken me by surprise, and I wasn't expecting her to be here.

"What are you doing here?! And how did you get here?!" I demanded, worry taking over the pain.

"I walked of course. There is a reason for me coming though. I've brought good news and bad news," Jo stated nonchalantly. Sometimes I worried that this girl was too careless.

"You walked! It's dangerous out here, especially at night. I though I've told you enough times not to walk here-"

"Hey I didn't come here to get lectured. Don't you want to hear my news? Isn't your curiosity peaking at all?" Jo asked, with a wiggle of her eyebrows. All I could do was look at her like she was an idiot. "Alright your curiosity isn't peaked, but you're going to hear the news anyway!"

"Lucky me," I grumbled, ducking back into the Pontiac and resuming my work. Behind me Jo jumped up on the work counter and started swinging her legs. The uneasy feeling that I had been feeling while I was working diminished with the arrival of Jo. I felt better having her near because I knew she was safe.

"Alright lets start with the good news! Good news is I studied and ate dinner," Jo told me with a huge smile on her face, I couldn't help but laugh at the girl, "Bad news is that cop was back around. He's been sitting outside the house since you left, I had to sneak out the backyard to get here."

"What do you mean the cop is back? I thought I got rid of him, plus he said he had _business _he had to take care of…This isn't good," I mumbled the last part to myself. Glancing back at Jo I could see that she had more she needed to tell me. "What?"

"This was in the mail." She tossed an envelope at me that was already open. Pulling papers out of the envelope I began to read them. "They're after the house, Melody. Uncle Rich is threatening to expose you if we don't give the house up to him."

All the air in my lungs whipped out of me as I sunk to the floor. This shouldn't be happening, this _couldn't _be happening. We were finally just starting to settle into the area. Jo finally had friends and was doing good in school. "We can just give him the house and find somewhere else to stay."

"No, that's your house Jo! I wont let this man take that away from yo-"

"It's your house too, Melody," she cut me off, looking at me with a saddened expression. This was too much to bear.

"We both know I don't need a house to live in. We both know that this," I said, motioning my hand up and down my body, "isn't real. This isn't me."

"Maybe there are others out there like you here now. I bet if we looked hard enough we could find them! We wouldn't have to worry about anyone else figuring out what you are, and you could learn all about who you really are! They'd probably take us in and take care of you cause you're one of them! It's perfec-"

"Nothing is that easy Jo. There was a reason why I stopped looking for my _kind _many millennia ago. They aren't here, this isn't where they are from; but for some reason I am here, and I'm happy to be here," I told her, my gaze softening as I looked at her.

"Why?" Jo questioned me, the curiosity ebbing in her young eyes.

"To watch your family grow and keep going on through the generations. All the women in your family fascinate me. You've all been kind and gentle hearted, but grow strong and passionate about something you love. I'm here to make sure your blood line doesn't end, that I get to watch your family grow," I told her truthfully. The memories I shared with her mother, grandmother, and her great-grandmother were still fresh in my mind. They were such lovely women. Every one of them had accepted me for what and who I was without question. To them I was just Melody.

"But…life is about finding you're happiness, you're love. Don't you want to find someone to love?" When I was first on this planet, I dreamed of finding another like myself and loving them, to spend forever with the one I love. The dream was soon extinguished when I realized that I was alone.

"I am happy, Jo. I don't need a mate to do that for me. Besides I love you, and that in itself brings me happiness. Now are you going to stay here for the night with me? If not I'll drive you home." Jo ended up staying at the shop with me. Through the hours I worked, not growing tired at all and making a great deal of progress. Jo was silent except when she got up to get a blanket and turn on some soft music. The music was always relaxing and put me more at ease when I was working.

It was around midnight, the bugs were fluttering around the lights, and it was pitch black outside when Jo finally spoke up; the first time since a few hours ago. "Melody…can you sing me a song?" I could tell that Jo needed some reassuring, so without much of a fight I agreed.

"_If I wrote a note to God  
I would speak what's in my soul  
I'd ask for all the hate to be swept away,  
For love to overflow  
If I wrote a note to God  
I'd pour my heart out on each page  
I'd ask for war to end  
For peace to mend this world  
I'd say, I'd say, I'd say_

Looking at Jo I could see her gaze soften as she fumbled with the end of her shirt and watched her hands.__

"Give us the strength to make it through  
Help us find love cause love is over due  
And it looks like we haven't got a clue  
Need some help from you  
Grant us the faith to carry on  
Give us hope when it seems all hope is gone  
Cause it seems like so much is goin wrong  
On this road we're on

My eyes didn't leave Jo as I continued to sing on.

_  
"If I wrote a note to God  
I would say what's on my mind  
I'd ask for wisdom to let compassion rule this world  
Until these times  
If I wrote a note to God  
I'd say please help us find our way  
End all the bitterness, put some tenderness in our hearts  
And I'd say, I'd say, I'd say_

Jo finally looked up and met my eyes. Different emotions were swirling in her eyes as she focused on me and nothing else. I'd sing this song to Jo when she was around eight, to help her go to sleep. It always calmed her.

_  
"Give us the strength to make it through  
Help us find love cause love is over due  
And it looks like we haven't got a clue  
Need some help from you  
Grant us the faith to carry on  
Give us hope when it seems all hope is gone  
Cause it seems like so much is goin wrong  
On this road we're on_

Jo hopped off the counted and walked up to me. She took my hands in hers and took a few deep breaths before she joined me in singing the song.

_  
"No, no no no  
We can't do this on our own  
So so_

My hands tightened around Jo's in a reassuring manner as I saw the tears brim her eyes. Seeing the fear and sadness in her eyes was slowly breaking my heart.

_  
"Give us the strength to make it through  
Help us find love cause love is over due  
And it looks like we haven't got a clue  
Need some help from you  
Grant us the faith to carry on  
Give us hope when it seems all hope is gone  
Cause it seems like so much is goin wrong  
On this road we're on_

"If I wrote a note to God"

As soon as we stopped singing a heart wrenching sob ripped through Jo. In a flash I had my arms tightly wrapped around her. Her fingers dug into my back, as I tried my hardest not to cry myself. Jo was terrified of her uncle, and his letter really scared he. No words could be spoken to help her, all I could do was hold her tight. Even if I knew words couldn't help I had to say something to her.

"I'll let nothing happen to you Jo. I'll always be here for you when you need me. That's a promise I wont break," I whispered into her hair, lightly kissing the top of her head. As the night went on, Jo slowly fell asleep in my arms.

_In a place unknown time never stops and hope dwindles. No matter what happens though, one can survive anything on hope alone. It is the fuel to keep one going and keep up with all the pain and challenges time brings. With just the slightest flicker of hope one's burdens can seem just the little bit easier. Even if hope is as small as a candle light flame, treasure and keep it safe; because it'll help…through so much._

_~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~_

**Hey Everyone! I know I probably shouldn't be starting another story, because I haven't finished my other ones…BUT I decided I wanted to write something (maybe have something new and fresh idk), plus with the new Transformer movie coming I couldn't help but be a little inspired. So I hope you enjoy! I'll do my best to finish this story…unlike my other ones…sorry again!!! Having a major writer's block with my other stories. By the way the song is _Note To God _By JoJo.**


	2. Tattoos and Attack

It was around the end of the week and the Solstice was practically complete, even after all the strange things that had been occurring. After school each day I'd drop of Jo at home, but a few hours later she would end up at the garage with me. Well sneaking out the back didn't last long, because the cop caught on. On Tuesday Jo had ran into the garage, sweat streaking her brow, huffing and puffing for air, and an expression on her face like she was a deer caught in headlights. Right behind her was the cop car, he was revving his engine and slowly lurching into the garage. Jo had clung onto me and let out an ear piercing scream. I was too stunned to do anything, but it turned out I didn't need to do anything. As soon as the cop crossed over the garage door border the Solstice came to life, music blaring from its speakers as it engine roared to life. The Topkick's engine was even louder as it revved and started to jerk out of the garage. On the Hummer the lights upon it were spinning a mile and it had its siren screaming. The loudest and most startling of them all was the semi. It laid on the horn until the cop was gone which left Jo's ears ringing for the next few hours. Its engine roared to life, but the Topkick's still seemed more menacing.

Jo continued to cling to me even after the cop took off and silence fell around the garage. Jo and I were both startled by the incident and had no idea what to do. It was soon decided that Jo would no longer walk to the garage. She ended up getting a ride with Sam and Mikaela to school, and afterwards they brought her right to the garage.

I was no longer in school. With my high-tech abilities I forged into my résumé some extra college courses, that allowed me to 'graduate' early. It wasn't like anyone was going to miss me at that school, plus I'd only graduated about seven other times before.

So it was now the end of the week and I was doing the finishing touches on the Solstice that looked good as new. Today all I had to do was finish that paint job on it, and it would be complete. Even though Dave didn't say anything, I knew he was proud of the job I did and even relieved. He'd spent almost the week at the hospital. Something was wrong with his wife's heart, and he wanted to spend ever possible moment with her; so for Dave I took over the shop for the week.

"MELODY MELODY MELODY I PASSED!!!" Jo screamed as she darted into the garage, knocking over a few tires and boxes as she ran right up to me. Still yelling her head off, Jo shook a piece of paper in front of my face that I tried my best to read. Snatching it away from her, and laughing as she bounced in place, I looked over her work. It was a history report we had worked on almost all night. There was a big fat 'A+' at the top of it, along with a note from the teacher about a job well done. Jo had worked real hard on this, even with my help.

"I can't believe this! I thought for sure you'd get a 'B' at the most," I said, continuing to read the teacher's note.

"I know isn't it awe-…hey what do you mean a 'B'?!?!" Jo demanded, putting her hands on her hips as she stomped her foot and pouted slightly. All I could do was smile at her as I pulled her into a tight hug.

"Thank goodness you finally got the girl to shut up! That's all we heard in the car over here. _Guys can you believe it?! I got an 'A' can you BELIEVE IT AN 'A'!!!" _Sam mimicked Jo, with a roll of his eyes. Mikaela just smiled at Sam, lightly patting his back as she tried to cover her laugh. Through the week Jo and formed a good friendship with the two teens in the garage. They were good, trustworthy kids so I didn't mind.

"I'm sorry you had to suffer through Jo's excitement," I laughed as I gathered different tools required for the paint job I was about to start. Feeling eyes on my I turned to see Sam and Mikaela watching me, but there was a twinkle in Jo's eyes. It was obvious what was coming without even asking.

"Can I paint 'im?" Jo questioned, practically bouncing on the spot. The girl had been by my side through the years I'd worked at the shop, so she developed a knack for painting. It was rather amazing what she could do.

"There is no art to be done here, Jo. Even though I'd love to let you loose, I'm suppose to return him just as he was before," I told her, trying to ignore the disappointment in her eyes.

"Aww come on. Just a few little ghost flames here and there. How about some ghost lightening bolts? I've been wanting to try those out! Or-"

"Hey, Jo."

"Yeah?"

"When you get your car, I promise you can change the paint job every week if you want. Just not our Solstice here," I said, laughing at the way Jo's eyes brightened up, and patted the hood of the Solstice. Later on I was probably going to regret bringing this up.

"How can you afford that much paint?" Mikaela asked, jumping up and sitting on the counter. Sam was right behind her and soon had his arm wrapped around her. Sam really cared for the girl, you could tell just through his body language.

"Jo came into some inheritance, and we could say I've got quite a bundle of my own money. You guys ever need anything just ask, we could get it for you no problem," I stated, before moving different equipment into the paint room. "Hey Jo you want to paint 'im? I think I'm going to wash the rest of 'em?"

"Sure!" Instantly Jo disappeared inside the Pontiac and turned him on. Soon she was pulling him out of the garage and into the paint room. We watched as she jumped up and closed the paint room door behind her. Painting could be exhausting and tedious work, but Jo loved it just as much as the first time she had painted.

"You're going to wash all three of these guys? I thought the boss of this place had the keys hidden…" Sam mumbled to himself. Reaching into my pocket I produced three sets of keys and jingled them. Mikaela and Sam's eyes widened as they stared at me.

"The boss doesn't do very well with hiding anything. I usually have to end up hiding everything for him. Besides I feel bad for these guys. They've had to go through the week of me fluffing up dust, dirt, and who knows what else; while the little Pontiac got to stay clean for his paint job." Filling up a bucket with water, and putting different soaps into the water, I moved outside with it while dragging the hose with me. First on my list was the Topkick, because I had a feeling he was going to take longer than the rest.

Practically jumping up inside of him, I turned the key in the ignition and listened as he instantly roared to life. It felt like he was practically purring because he loved to finally be moved. We didn't go very far, but it was better than not moving at all. "How come you gave them genders?" Mikaela asked me.

"Who?" I questioned her, a little confused.

"The cars. You keep calling them 'him'. Do you normally give them a gender?" Thinking about it I hadn't realized what I had done. It shocked me a little, but it seemed so natural.

"Well…no. I didn't even realize I was doing it. If it bothers you I can stop," I told her, but as soon as the words left my mouth the Topkick's and Sam's Camaro flickered their headlights. I'd grown use to the different and odd things these vehicles did. Nothing really surprised me any more.

"No no! It's fine. I was just curious is all. Now lets get started on cleaning these guys!" Mikaela said with much enthusiasm. Sam sat back and provided us with music for the next few hours as Mikaela and I washed. After the first hour Mikaela pulled off her shirt and started washing in just her bikini top and shorts. Eventually I soon followed suite with a pair of my own shorts and a muscle shirt that stopped above my belly button.

The day wore on as we continued to wash all the vehicles. At first we were focused, but soon we were throwing jokes at each other; which would usually end with 'your mom'. After a few 'your mom' comments to Sam he started a water fight. Mikaela and I squealed like girls as we ran around the Topkick, trying to get away from Sam with the hose. Eventually though Mikaela threw me out to Sam to let me be attacked. With Mikaela's betrayal I ganged up on her with Sam.

After about an hour of fun water fighting we got back to work and focused on cleaning. Sam kept on being a bum though and would just switch the station for different music, instead of helping us. Mikaela and I questioned him about helping us, but he'd just state he was enjoying the view. All three of us silently sang along to the songs after we stopped trying to get Sam to help us. Sam wasn't good with lyrics though and would start to make up his own words, which made Mikaela and me laugh. Just through washing a truck I was able to bond with the two. It was nice.

It wasn't until I was cleaning the hood of the truck that everything went down hill. With just a few words the fun joking atmosphere was broken. "Melody, what's that on your back?" Feeling the air quickly leave my body, my hand instinctively went to my lower back before I spun around towards Sam. My back pressed to the front of the Topkick, as if to hide what had been pointed out.

"It's just a tattoo," I tried to lie my way out. It didn't seem like that was going to work though. There was shock, surprise, and determination set into Sam's eyes. It made me a little nervous and shrink back, not that I had far to go.

"That looked like some kind of head, a red head to be more precise," Sam stated, almost glaring at me now. Mikaela had now joined our conversation as she stared me down. I really didn't want to be in this situation.

"I've had it for years okay. Just drop it," I said darkly, finally gathering my strength and taking a defensive stance. For a few moments their determination seemed to waver, but not for long.

"You need to tell us-" Sam was cut off though by the loud screeching of tires. All three of us spun around to see the cop from the beginning of the week racing down the road. It showed no sign of slowing down as it headed straight for us. Blinking my eyes my bike roared to life and to my side. Quickly I jumped on and revved my engine as I tried to stare the cop down.

"Watch out for Jo!" I yelled at Sam and Mikaela, before screeching out of the garage and down the road. In just a few seconds the cop was right on my tail and bumping into my back tire. I let out silent grunts as I gained my balance and pushed the bike to its full potential.

Everything around me was a blur as I passed by and weaved through different cars. The only thing running through my head was _get away_. There were innocent people around, and they didn't need to get hurt. The police car's sirens soon penetrated the silence and pushed me to go faster. So many different emotions ran through me that I couldn't figure out one from another. It wasn't long though till I was clouded by anger for what _this cop _had done to Jo…**my** Jo! He was going to hurt her that night, I knew it. Then I didn't do anything, but now…now was my chance! Turning sharp, I started driving away from civilization and too the deserted desert. Checking my mirrors I found the cop close behind. Anger almost seemed to roll off of him in waves as he trailed me.

As soon as we hit the desert, and there was no one around, I took a deep breath. Slowly I let go of the handle bars, but the bike didn't lose any speed and kept going. Then I closed my eyes and focused…until all I could see was the pavement in front of me, and all I could feel was the pavement under me. With a little more focus I let myself _transform._ In mere moments pavement started to break under my feet and my hands as I tried to stop myself. Instantly different things started to flash across my vision as cannons were reloaded, different weapons targeting in on my enemy, and different systems telling me of any damage done to me. Luckily I was 100% full power and ready for a fight.

Running towards the cop, I pulled both my hands behind my head and brought it down on its hood. The vehicle's back tires popped into the air before it slammed back down. Smoke now rose from the hood and there was no movement. Nervously I took a few steps back, not taking my eyes off of the threat at hand for a moment. That's when different alarms starting flashing before my eyes and I quickly darted backwards, away from the cop. That's when he started to _transform._

As he changed my whole body froze up as I watched. This wasn't possible! I'd never seen this before! Standing before me was a much taller, and more sinister looking robot. He didn't give me much time to process that we were the same thing, for he ran straight at me and hit me right across the face. With a cry I spun to the ground, where he once again started attacking me. I kicked, punched, and attacked different places wildly just to get him off of me for a few moments. Alarms were going off like crazy as I finally got my footing and stood back up.

For just the few moments it took me to get back on my feet, the robot before me now had a weapon in his hands. I'd never seen anything like it before and it worried me greatly. In both hands he held a long chain, and at the end of that chain there was a large ball of deadly looking spikes. Instinct took over as I did different flips, turns, dives, and backhand springs to avoid getting hit. I was losing energy quickly though and needed to come up with a plan.

Whipping out the pointless end of the chain, the chain wrapped around my ankle and soon had me flying through the air and slamming into the ground. There was no movement after that as dust flew into the air and we waited for it to settle. As carefully as possible I stood up, not tugging on the chain at all, and started to charge up a cannon. There was a whooshing in the air that different scanners and locaters in my system tried to pin point, and figure out what it was. I ran out of time though, because when the dust cleared everything seemed to move in slow motion.

Red eyes met mine, as I felt my fire being released. As soon as my fire was released, the spiked end of the chain was flying towards me and hitting me in the side. Instantly I was blinded by various alarms that went off, and warned me of damage as pain rocketed through my whole right side. Doing my best to see though the alarms, I saw that I had hit my mark and that the _cop _was now on the ground; different colored sparks flickering from his chest and right shoulder. Not having any strength left, and enough damage, I painfully transformed and ran away. With my last bit of energy I forced my hologram to appear.

The drive back to the garage was nothing but a blur, and I couldn't process where I was going. I was so blinded by pain that I had to let my mind work on instinct to guide me back. The sun was now setting in the sky, but gave off just a few more hours of light and a little heat. It gave me no comfort though. As soon as I turned down the street and started to pull into the garage lot I heard yelling. Looking up I saw Jo, Mikaela, and Sam running towards me.

That's when the exhaustion hit me and I couldn't go on any longer. My form fell off the side of the bike and tumbled across the concrete. My bike made it a few more feet before it too teetered on its side and skidded across the cement and slammed into a wall inside the garage. The sound of various tools falling from the wall barely reached me, but I still winced at the noise.

"MELODY!" "Oh god Mel!" "Shit!" Was all I heard before three familiar faces came into my view. Sam, Mikaela, and Jo were all trying to talk to me at once, but I couldn't make my lips form words. All I could see in their eyes was pure fear and panic.

"We have to call 911 now!" Mikaela panicked, and pulled out her phone. Before she could call though Jo ripped the phone from her hands.

"We can't call 911 we have to-"

"Are you crazy?! If we don't do anything she's going to die, Jo!" Sam shouted at her, if I was able to form words I would have snapped at the boy. All I could do for the moment though was groan.

"You two know nothing about her! No one can help her but me! So back the hell off and let me do what I'm suppose to!" Jo screamed at him, when a Holloway wasn't getting what she knew was right, or questioned about what was right, they were a force to be reckoned with. Jo snatched Sam's phone out of his pocket, and before he could yell at her, she stood up and was running back into the garage. "Pick her up and get her in here!"

With some difficulty Sam picked me up bridal style and started walking me towards the garage. With pain clouded eyes I turned to see Jo shove every tool and any other object off the counter. She piled various car covers on the counter before Sam placed me on them. The cool counter seeped through the car covers and into me, it helped me to relax…somewhat. Shaking my head, I was able to see Jo start working on my bike. Her hands moved with a purpose as she started to repair it. Sam and Mikaela didn't say anything, it seemed to become a silent agreement to not question Jo.

After awhile Mikaela joined Jo, and started to repair the opposite side of the bike. For the rest of the night the two worked silently together to repair the beaten bike. I wasn't able to see if they were able to save me though because I was soon over come by darkness.


	3. Alone or Not

My vision was clouded by swirling shades of gray and black. I could feel air entering and exiting my lungs as I tried to figure out where I was at. There was a light pain throbbing all through me. Panic filled me as I remember nothing, and had no idea if I was dead or alive. What about Jo? Was she alright? Was she dead? Did something happen to us? Determined to know if Jo was alright I began to fight against the darkness.

"_Let me out of here!!! Jo?! You can't keep me here!" _I shouted, but my voice just seemed to echo on forever. Fear started to take over me at the thought of never getting out. On their own my feet began to move and I just started running. There was no wind, and there were no smells. It was blank, there was nothing. My chest started to heave as the panic started to sink in more.

"_Somebody please help!!! Anybody please!" _I cried as I sunk to the ground. Even though it seemed there was nothing below me my knees still made contact with something solid. "_Please," _I whispered, but I was the only one around to hear.

"Melody! Melody look at me!" A little Jo yelled happily, as she attempted to do a cartwheel. Snapping my head up, I watched as a younger Jo was swept up into my arms and I placed a big raspberry kiss on her cheek. The Jo in my arms squealed with joy as she wrapped her arms around my neck. "_Jo!!!"_

"I love you, Melody," she whispered to the me who was holding her, and then disappeared. Tears brimmed my eyes, as I pushed myself to my feet and started to walk. There was a light beeping noise the filled the air around me, as I spun around and around looking for the source. Gray and black started to swirl together as I grew dizzy. Before I toppled over, I stopped mid spin and looked at the picture before me.

There I sat, in an overly large, and uncomfortable hospital chair. Tears were streaking down my face as I clutched on to the unconscious Jo's hand. Somewhere in the distance yelling could be heard and I watched as all I was able to do was clutch Jo's hand, and have eyes squeeze shut. Watching different memories play before brought both tears of joy and heart break. There were so many sweet little memories I had forgotten, and there were so many traumatic ones that had been locked away. After awhile I just sat down and let the memories play before me, just like a movie. For hours on end it seemed like, all I did was sit there and watch. I forgot about getting out of this place, or the people that might have been waiting for me to wake up. None of that matter now though, because in this big void of black and gray I wasn't alone; I had my memories.

It seemed I wasn't meant to be alone with just my sweet memories.

Warm waves rolled across my back, as if the sun was shining behind me. As the warm rays seeped into me I could also feel different emotions. There was fear, worry, curiosity, and even remorse. I could feel myself become interested at this new company, and couldn't help but turn around to see what was behind me. And that's when I saw the most amazing stranger I would ever see.

He was a robot just like me, it was the first time for me to see my kind while not being attacked. He was taller than myself with a bright yellow body. Behind him were to yellow doors that looked like wings. He shifted his balance from one foot to the other as he stared at me. It was his eyes though that I couldn't bring myself to look away from. They were eyes just like mine, but they were so soft and caring.

"_**Optics, they're not eyes they're optics," **_a voice told me. I could tell the voice didn't belong to the man- "_**That's not a man, that's a mech and you're a femme." **_but it was still male and talking to me.

"_Who are you?! Can you help me?"_

"_**I can't help you with everything, but I can help you with becoming a cybertronian," **_the voice told me. This voice was calm and comforting yet I had no idea who it was or who it belonged to.

"_Who are you?" _

"_**I'm known as Primus, and every cybertronian knows of me. Now if you wish to get out of here you will trust yourself, and the mech before you," **_Primus instructed me. It made me feel a little off to be talking to such a respected and well known being. Standing up I hesitantly started to walk towards this mech.

"_Who is he? What's a cybertronian?"_

"_**A cybertronian is what you are. He is going to be your dear friend in the future. I advice you to trust him," **_Primus told me. My _optics _now locked with the yellow mech's before me and we just stared at each other in silence. The mech's optics were filled with nothing but curiosity and kindness. There didn't seem to be any signs of him being a threat.

"_Can you help me?" _I asked shyly, I wasn't used to communicating with someone, or a cybertronian, like me. His eyes looked like they lit up even more and he started to make these crooning noises. I couldn't help but giggle lightly at him, he just seemed so kind and sweet. "_How are you going to help me?"_

"_So I'm going home, to the place where I belong…" _Daughtry's song rang out from what I assumed was a radio.

"_You're going to help me home?" _He nodded his head with enthusiasm, as he stepped closer to me. Hesitantly I looked behind me to the memories that continued to play there. It was so nice to just sit there and watch everything, instead of always having to worry. If I wanted Jo though I was always going to worry. That's what came with the job of being a guardian, along with a friend and a caretaker. I'd always be there for her, there would never be anything stopping me from that. With these thoughts of Jo I turned back to the mech, and was ready to return. "_Please…take me home. I just want to go home," _I spoke a little dejectedly. I was tired and depressed. I'm sure the expression on my face looked like someone had just kicked my puppy.

Stepping towards me, the mech wrapped his arms around my waist. Unfamiliar with the feel of another being hugging me in this form, I grew a little stiff and unsure. After awhile though I couldn't help but relax against him and wrap my arms around him too. He started his sweet crooning again and I couldn't help myself when I buried my face into his chest. This was the safest I'd ever felt in a long time, here in this mech's arms. It seemed like the constant worry and fear that always seemed to follow me was just swept away, as if it was never there.

I could feel his hands lightly rub my back as the sound of the memories faded, and the shades of black and gray disappeared; pure white taking its place. Everything around me started to change. With all the changes I grew scared that I wouldn't get out of here, but my yellow mech just tightened his arms around me and placed his head on my shoulder; as if to shield his eyes from the light.

Wait…my mech?

If I was in my hologram form I would have been blushing like no other human had before. No one had even heard me and I was still ultimately embarrassed. I'd make sure nobody ever found out about my thoughts, not even Jo. Yes, Jo and I were close, but sometimes it is best to keep some things to myself. This would be one of those things. Knowing her she would squeal like a school girl and start playing match maker. Not that I was ever going to find my other half. My purpose was to take care of the Holloways. My train of thought was cut off when I felt the mech start to pull away from me. Pure panic shot through me as I tried to clutch onto him and bring him back, but he still pulled away. Just as he was about out of reach I thought my hope of going home would be shattered, but with just a few words he reassured me.

"_You're safe. You're home."_ And then everything went black.

Groaning, I reached up to rub my eyes. I had a splitting headache and couldn't remember a thing. The last thing that I recalled was the spikes sinking into my sides…wait I was in battle. With a scream I shot up and looked around, ready for a fight. I'm sure an observer would tell me that my eyes were wide and wild like an animals. My hands flew to my side, when I noticed that they were human hands. I was in my hologram form…so I wasn't fighting anyone. Shakily I looked around me to see I was in the garage. Instead of just four cars there were now five. A yellow Camaro had squeezed between the Pontiac and the Topkick. For a few moments I ran my hands through my hair before getting off the table. Before I could even put my full weight on my feet though my knees buckled. A slight cry of pain escaped me as my knees hit the concrete floor.

Biting back the pain, I used the counter to push myself back up. I gave myself a few moments to let the pain ease before figuring out the plan. If I was hurting in my hologram form than that meant that there had been some damage done to my bike. I was hit with a ball of spikes, obviously there was going to be damage. Leaning off the counter a bit, I looked through the window of the Pontiac to see my back sitting there on its kickstand.

Chewing on my lower lip, and moving stiffly, I walked towards my bike. There was a cover over it, so I wasn't sure if there was any damage or repairs had been done. Keeping myself steady on the Pontiac, I pulled the cover off my bike. Once it was out of the way I let out a sigh of relief. There my bike sat, shinnying in its glory like nothing ever happened. It even had a new paint job, compliments of Jo I was sure. It was no longer plain red. The front of the bike started off yellow then faded into orange, then red. You couldn't even tell where yellow and orange met, or where orange met red, Jo had faded it so well. On top of the faded colors was the outline of black flames. My Jo and her flames, she was addicted to them when it came to painting. I'm surprised she didn't try out her lightening bolts like she wanted. Knowing her though she'll paint it next week. She was always changing the colors on the bike. I never minded though because it was refreshing.

Leaning back against the Pontiac I ran my hands over my face. All of a sudden I was tired, and once again feeling alone. Slowly I slide down the side of the Pontiac, until I was sitting on the floor. That's when the tears started to flow and sobs rocked my body. It was painful to cry, every time a sob ripped through my chest I felt like someone was poking my side with a hot rod iron. At the moment it didn't matter. I was scared, really scared. There was someone else out there like me, a mech, and he attacked me. He was dangerous and I didn't know how to fight. At least the first time we met we just threw colorful words at each other, but now we were physically fighting.

"Melody? Oh god, Melody, can you hear me? I'm right here. Come on say something to me!" Jo ordered me, shaking me slightly by the shoulders. I don't know where she came from, but she was here. Shakily I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her to me. She didn't make a sound, but made herself more comfortable in my lap and let me hold her. Burying my face into her shoulder, I cried my heart out unlike I had ever done before.

Jo just wrapped her arms around me as I cried. Her touch was gentle as she rubbed my back, and did her best to reassure me. "I don't want to be alone, Jo. I'm scared."

"Shh it's alright. You're not alone any more. There's help now. I found someone to help you," Jo whispered into my ear. Wrapping my arms even tighter around her, I did my best to bite back another sob.

"What do you mean?" I murmured the question, barely able to hear what I said myself. Jo gently pulled away from me and placed her hands on each side of my face. As light as feathers, her thumbs brushed away my tears. Looking at her I could see her own tears forming in her eyes, and ready to spill where they brimmed her eyes.

"You don't have to be alone any more. There are other's here who can take care of you, who can help you. Come on. Sam and Mikaela can show you." Melody climbed out of my lap and helped me to my feet. Now standing up I was face to face with Sam and Mikaela. They both had small smiles on their faces, but I could tell they felt sorry for me. "You guys lead the way, Melody and I will follow."

I watched as Sam and Mikaela opened up all the garage doors before hopping into the Camaro and pulling out. Turning around I carefully got on my bike and started it. Once it was started and I was ready to go, Jo climbed on behind me. Not really feeling any pain, I peeled out of the shop parking lot and after the Camaro. Instantly I was washed over by freedom, and not having to worry about anything. All I wanted was to ride, and that was exactly what I would do. Following behind the Camaro I wondered what Jo had meant when she said I wasn't alone any more. Did she mean there were more monsters out there like the one that attacked me? Would there be more danger, and more to fear?

Blocking those thoughts out, I tried to hope for the best. But what was the best? Feeling defeated I just stared at the taillights of the Camaro, and followed. It was night out, and something told me that I had been asleep for a whole day. Checking my rearview mirrors I almost slammed on the breaks. Driving behind us was the Pontiac I had been working on, the Hummer, the Peterbilt, and the Topkick. There had been no one else at the garage, so who was driving them?

Pulling off and onto a dirt road, I realized that we were at the look out Jo had told me about once before. She said that she'd have to show it to me one day, but we'd never gotten around to it. So there we were, with a slight breeze, and surrounded by five other vehicles. Sam and Mikaela approached us as Jo got off my bike, but I didn't really feel like moving; so I just sat there. Silence wrapped around us like a blanket, as Sam, Mikaela, and Jo exchanged looks. I refused to say a word.

"Please, Melody, no matter what don't take off. There is no danger, we're just here to help," Mikaela told me, as the three kids approached me and stood around me. I was thoroughly confused and shared a glance with each of them. The silence was soon filled with the sound of shifting gears, and metal scraping against one another. I could no longer breath as I watched the cars and trucks that had once been parked in front of me transformed! Like I had done not so long ago.

They all stood and stretched, some with a little more grace than the others. The once black Topkick was huge and once he put his hands above his head and stretch, I heard multiple things pop. Looking at them now, I could tell they were all mechs, and they all looked down at me with their bright blue eyes. Stunned, shocked, and shy I could feel my lips clamp shut. With their intense stairs I grew nervous.

"Do you want to transform and join them?" Jo asked me, I could tell she wasn't really giving me a choice. With a sigh, I let my hologram disappear, and waited for them to step back. As silent as a mouse, I transformed and stood to my full height. It didn't really measure up to any of their heights though, even the short Pontiac. I would have probably been to his shoulder.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you. We must thank you for the wonderful job you did with fixing up Jazz," the tallest of them spoke with a calm and gentle tone, as he gestured towards the shortest member of the ground, "We had no idea that we were dealing with a fellow cybertronian until Barricade showed up."

"Who's Barricade," I asked him softly, almost afraid of speaking to loud. I curled my hands together and held them against my chest, it was a little security thing.

"The cop car that was outside your repair shop. We were about to take care of him, but you reacted instantly and took care of him-"

"Is your name really Melody?" the black Topkick asked me, his voice gruff and not soft at all. Hesitantly I took a step back and looked at the ground. His gaze was intense and made me extremely nervous.

"Ironhide knock it off! Look at what you're doing to the poor femme!" the Hummer snapped, smacking the black Topkick, Ironhide, in the back of the head. If I wasn't so nervous this situation would have been funny. Just as I was about to let out a giggle there was a cannon in my face.

"Shut it femme!"

"Ironhide put you cannon aw-" The Semi was cut off though, because I had followed my instincts and attacked. I hadn't even thought to stop myself as I ducked out of the cannons fire range and spun around Ironhide. Next thing I knew I had his arm pulled painfully behind his back and pushed him to the ground.

"Oh my gosh! I am so sorry! I didn't mean to-"

"I like ya! Tha was amazin!" Jazz chuckled as he patted me on the back. Clamping my hands to my chest I watched as Ironhide quickly scrambled to his feet and stared me down. "In all my years I neva seen anyone, let alone a femme, take down ol' 'Hide like tha!" Ironhide's stare was intense, but there was a smirk on his face.

"You two settle down! Now why don't you tell us your name," the semi offered to me. Glancing at all of them quickly, my eyes stopped on the yellow mech who hadn't said anything.

"I'm Melody."

"That's not a cybertronian name though."

"Lets introduce ourselves first, Ironhide, before we get all the facts straight here. Melody, my name is Optimus Prime. I'm leader of the Autobots. Ratchet here is our medic. Ironhide, is our weapon specialist and is the one who pulled the cannon on you. The one you were repairing for us, is my second in command, and is known as Jazz. And the one you followed here is Bumblebee, he is also guardian to Sam Witwicky," Optimus explained, and introduced everyone to me. As he told me who was who I would nod at them politely. "Now why don't you tell us how you came to be here."

"…I don't know how I got here. I've never heard of Autobots or known there were others out there like me. It's just been me here, on earth, since I woke up. There have never been others like me here," I told them truthfully. The group of them exchanged different looks until Ratchet stepped forward. Trying my hardest not move, I let him run a scan over me, watching the green light move up and down my body.

"She's fully matured, and there are no signs of any damage. When you say you 'woke up' were you a little sparkling, or full grown femme like you are now?" Ratchet asked me, it made me feel a little awkward with all the questions.

"What's a sparkling?"

"How do you not know what a spark-"

"Shut it, Ironhide! A sparkling is a cybertronian child. It's just like a human child," Ratchet informed me.

"I was full grown," I answered him, glancing around nervously. I spotted Jo sitting in Ironhide's hand, while Sam and Mikaela sat on Bumblebee's shoulders.

"This is interesting. You're name isn't cybertronian either. It's purely from earth obviously. You woke up full grown. You've been here all by yourself?"

"There has **never** been anyone else like me here," I spoke with a darker tone. I watched as the mechs before me had sympathy flash across their faces, and looked at the ground. It rubbed me wrong that they felt sorry for me, but I knew they were only thinking with the best intentions.

"Well there is now. And we will not leave you to be picked off by the Decepticons. You bear the mark of the Autobots, yet you've never known of us. It would seem you are meant to be apart of us. We can help you, and take care of you. Jo is a part of your life, so she will be taken care of as well. Do you wish to join us, and let us help you?" Optimus asked me, not sounding like he was forcing me into anything at all. Looking to Jo, I could tell she wanted me to join them. Would it really be for the best, or for the worst ?

"Come on, Mel, please do this. You don't have to be alone any more. They can help you, and take care of us," Jo spoke to me with almost desperation in her voice. Not being able to bring myself to look at them, I stared at my feet. The unknown had always scared me…would these mechs really be there for me. Before I could figure it out, there was a hand on my back and a chest pressed against my arm. Snapping my head up, my optics locked on with the brightest blue optics I'd ever seen. Bumblebee lightly rubbed my back, and stood there with me. It was almost as if he had read my thoughts about facing the unknown, and was trying to help me face it.

Looking at him, I think I knew my answer now.

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**Hey everyone I hope you've been enjoying the story! I'm happy with how many readers I have, and the few reviews I have gotten. Thank you! I've been thinking about putting more Oc's in the story, but I have no idea for names. So if anyone has cool Autobot or Decepticon names that would be great. Please share them!**


	4. Fun at the Mall

**Thank you Panthergirl29 and Autobot Alythia your name suggestions were good! I'll most likely end up using them. Well hope you enjoy the story!**

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"Melody take me shopping!" Jo cried out, as she threw herself at me and practically made me fall to the floor. We'd been with the Autobots for a couple of weeks now, and it was wonderful. The government paid for everything the Autobots needed, and the Autobots had decided that I needed my own shop to provide an income and privacy. So the government built me a wonderful auto shop that also had a house built in it for Jo to live in. It was also the place that Sam and Mikaela liked to hang out. All the money I got working went towards anything the kids wanted to do that was fun or buy something for our home. Any food or bills was also paid for by the government. Everything was just so stress fee and relaxing.

"Yeah, Melody, take us shopping!" Mikaela yelled as she also glommed me. With Mikaela's extra weight I couldn't hold the three of us up and I fell to the floor. No harm came to Jo or Mikaela of course because they were on top of me, me on the other hand had a throbbing back and butt.

"You two shouldn't injure the person you want to take you shopping. There is no logic in immobilizing her before you accomplish your mission," Ratchet informed the two girls from where he was standing. The Autobots had also helped with building the new shop so that it could hide them as well. They had made high ceilings so that they could all stand comfortably, and where a human had thought the back wall ended it was really just a hologram; there was an entire room where the Autobots just lounged around in their own personal areas.

"Come on Melody you cant spend all your time here fixing cars! You're a women you're suppose to want to do these things constantly!" Sam scolded me. Sam and I had bonded quite a bit because he had let me join him on drives him and Bumblebee went on. He soon decided after he got to know me that I didn't spoil myself enough. I was happy with the way things were and enjoyed watching Jo and Mikaela get excited when I bought them things. Besides what's a fifteen foot, or so, robot suppose to buy for themselves?

"I like fixing cars though…" I mumbled to myself, Sam had heard me though and smacked me in the head. He ignored my 'ow' and flopped onto a couch in the lounge area. Inside the garage was also a lounge/hang out for Sam, Mikaela, and Jo.

"Yo Mel I think ya should go! Ya spend waaayyy too much time here!" Jazz told me from the giant computer monitor he was staring at. He had direct access to internet, I don't understand why he needed a giant computer.

"You guys are going to abandon me with three teenage kids in a large mall, with unlimited money? Are you all insane? I'll never make it out of there alive!" I tried to defend myself, Jazz just turned around and looked at me like I was an idiot. I felt like an idiot.

"We'll send you back-up," Ironhide said, not looking up from his cannon which he was polishing.

"Really?!"

"Sure, Bumblebee can go with you," Ironhide instantly nominated, not even bothering to ask said bot if he wanted to go. There was a slight glare on Bumblebee's face as he looked at Ironhide, but I knew he didn't mind going.

"What you didn't want to come with me, 'Hide?"

"Like I'm going to a public human facility, where humans gather in large quantities, with three teenage humans," Ironhide stated, still not removing his gaze from his 'beloved' cannon. The man needed something better to do with his time, or a women/femme.

"Yet you're sending me out into the battle field why?"

"Because you're more qualified. I'd end up shooting something," Ironhide said like it was the most obvious answer in the world. Jo instantly popped up next to me, bouncing where she stood as her eyes seemed to light up.

"Do we get to watch something blow up?!" she practically squealed, throwing her hands in the air as she ran towards Ironhide. The girl had taken an instant liking to Ironhide's tough behavior and all his ammunition. They had 'bonding time' when they went out to 'target practice'. This 'practice' ended up collapsing an old warehouse.

"No! Either ride with me or go with Bumblebee. Lets go," I told her, as my bike came to my side ready to go. She just smiled at me before rolling her eyes and hopping in Bumblebee with Sam and Mikaela. There was a slight pang of disappointment that she wasn't riding with me, but I knew she wanted to be with her friends. As long as she was happy that was all that mattered.

Most of the way to the mall Bumblebee and I raced. He'd warn me when there was a cop in the area and we'd slow down to the speed limit. As soon as we were clear of cops though we sped up to unimaginable speeds. A private comlink had been created between me and each of the Autobots. So while we were driving Bumblebee and I just chatted. A hologram was also made for Bumblebee, because he went out so much in the public. Optimus wanted some extra security and this is how he got it.

It was easier for me to maneuver along the highway because I could weave in and out of cars, so it was pretty easy to lose Bee and take off ahead. The mall was pretty packed when I arrived, but I managed to find a place up close, and created another false hologram car to save Bumblebee a place to park. I wandered into the mall and found a place to sit in the food court. There were all kinds of people here wandering around, and it was rather entertaining to watch them. The place was mostly packed with teenagers, most of them obnoxious and loud. When are they not though?

After sitting there for about twenty minutes and not hearing from anyone, I got some food. The smell from Cinnabon had kept distracting me from my people watching, so I ended up buying a giant cinnamon roll and eating the whole thing. They were just so yummy, no one could resist them, and I hadn't put up much of a fight.

A group of boys across the food court were crowded around a table and drew my attention. There was a wall of the boys' back to me so I didn't know what they were doing. Something about them rubbed me wrong though, so I wasn't going to look away until I knew what they were doing. It took awhile, but I was patient and was rewarded for my patients when one of the boys moved. In a few moments I was filled with pure rage. The boys were crowded around a girl who had a book in front of her. She had blonde hair and from this distance, and enhanced eyes, I could see that she had bright blue eyes. It was in these eyes I saw tears, and it was because of those tears I stood up and walked over there. One boy grabbed her book and tore it away from her, while another snatched her glasses. What ever happened to being polite to girls and women?

My left hand made contact with the back of the boy's head who was holding the book, and my right made contact with the boy who had the glasses. They both dropped the items as their hands reached their heads on instinct, and while they were distracted I snatched the book and glasses up. With what strength I had I shoved the boys away from the girl and wrapped my arms around her shoulder, and helped her up. She was trying to wipe away her tears and hide them before anyone could see, but they were kind of hard to miss. The poor girl looked like she was having a break down.

"Who are you?!" One of the boys snapped at me, stepping closer to me. I put myself between the girl and him before turning to him. I put the best glare I could on my face before taking the threatening step towards the boy. The way he took a slight step back let me know he was intimidated.

"It doesn't matter who I am. Back off and leave us alone," I growled at him, not breaking eye contact for a moment. The boy made no move to back down, but he didn't make a move to challenge me either. Wrapping my arm back around the girl's shoulders I steered her away. The girl silently sniffled and let me guide her away from everyone. It took a few minutes but I finally found a pretty secluded place in Macy's and sat her on a bench. A wall of curly blonde hair separated us, as she sniffled and wiped her noise. Silently I handed her, her glasses and her book.

"Thanks, you didn't have to do that," she mumbled, glancing at me through her hair. Her eyes still looked watery, but I could tell she had stopped crying. It was a relief to know she was feeling better.

"I wasn't just going to stand back and watch those boys act like that. They should know better, plus I couldn't miss the opportunity to get in that jerk's face." The girl lightly giggled at me, biting one of her knuckles to try and stop the noise from escaping. I couldn't help but smile at this girl, she seemed so sweet and innocent. I couldn't figure out why those boys wanted to pick on her. "My name's Melody."

"I'm Riley," she introduced politely. The name seemed to suite her just fine. Before I could say anything else my phone went off. Looking at it 'Bumblebee' flashed across the screen.

"Hello Bee."

"_Where are you? Sam, Mikaela, Jo and I just got here."_

"I'm sitting in Macy's, where are you?"

"_We're currently at the other end of the mall."_

"I'll start walking in your direction. You better look for me! I don't want to be walking in circles looking for you."

"_No worries! Just get here!" _With that I closed my phone and turned to Riley. There was a smile on her face as she looked at me. Touching my face, I tried to figure out if there was something on it. Now I was feeling self conscious and began to fiddle with the end of my shirt.

"What?" I finally asked her, meeting her gaze nervously. That grin was still on her face.

"Who was that?" There was a mischievous look on her face. What did I just get myself into?

"That was a friend of mine…" I told her reluctantly because her eyes seemed to brighten as the moments passed. What happened to the shy girl I'd just helped moments ago? This better not end badly…

"Is this friend your boyfriend?"

"What?! No! Why are you asking? Are you interested?" There was this slight pang in my chest as the words left my lips. I don't know what it was, but I didn't like it. Looking up from my lap I watched Riley's retreated back. "Where are you going?!"

"You said you were going to meet him, now come on! I recognized that look on your face when you answered the phone," Riley told me, only slowing her pace a little so I could catch up. Did this girl have two personalities or something? At the moment she was acting bold and forward, when the boys were around her she was defenseless and shy. This girl was confusing.

"What look are you talking about? All I did was answer my phone," I defended myself, not really sure why I needed to defend myself though. Riley rolled her eyes at me as we weaved through the crowd, not really paying attention. Through the corner of my eye I looked out for Bumblebee.

"When you answered the phone you got all doughy eyed and had that smile on your face, you can't possibly be in denial. That or you haven't figured it out yet," Riley said, making it seem like whatever it was we were talking about the most obvious thing.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I grumbled, slightly annoyed that I couldn't seem to figure it out. She was making me feel like an idiot, for a super advanced robot from space that is.

"You like him," Riley said, looking inside a store, not looking at me at all. Because of her distraction she hadn't seen my mouth drop, or my eyes grow wide as saucers. Was this girl nuts? This was Bumblebee we were talking about, yeah the mech is cute but he's my friend. We'd spent all our free time hanging out, and he even trained me more than anyone else, but we were comrades and friends. That's it nothing more and nothing less, that's all we'd ever be…

"No I don't. And even if I did, there is no way he would like me back. We are to preoccupied with our jobs," I told her sternly, she seemed to sense I didn't want to talk on the subject any longer and looked around. Glancing around myself, I noticed a hand waving frantically around in the air with Sam jumping up and down. The boy had an interesting method of getting someone's attention. With a sigh I got Riley's attention and lead her towards my four friends. There were smiles on everyone's faces, but they began to disappear when they noticed Riley. Mikaela kept up a pretty good act though and plastered a false smile on her face.

"Hey Melody, who's that you got there?" Sam asked me, stopping in front of Riley and I with his arm wrapped around Mikaela. Mikaela was leaning into Sam slightly, I could tell the couple were nervous. They were protective and didn't want the Autobot secret to get out.

"This is Riley. I guess you could say we met earlier. Riley this is Sam, Mikaela, Jo, and Bee," I introduced, I just knew she was going to make a comment on Bumblebee's name. Everybody would probably make a comment on Bumblebee's name. If the Autobots would have had earth names things would have probably been a little easier, but it was confusing at the same time. It was so easy to call them by their normal names out in public, so we dropped human names.

"It's nice to meet you. What kind of name is Bee?" Riley was now acting like she was shy again. I couldn't help but give her an odd look. Maybe she just acted like that around new people.

"It's just his nickname. Now how about we get shopping!" I encourage, trying to make a distraction and not draw too much attention to Bee. Jo understood and linked arms with Riley and took off with Sam and Mikaela close behind.

"You're paying for everything right, Melody?!"

"Sure!" I yelled back at Jo as she disappeared in what appeared to be the first stop. Laughing, I turned to Bee to find him staring at me, there was also a light grin on his face. "What?"

"Come on. They can do their thing, we'll do ours," Bee said, grabbing my hand and started walking ahead of me. The conversation I had earlier with Riley popped into my head, but I quickly pushed it aside. There would never be anything between Bee and I.

Bumblebee and I wondered in and out of different stores. We had fun trying on outrageous outfits, and joking around. Just to make the employees of the stores happy after we were done trying on clothes, I would buy a top or two I was sure Jo would like. The kids had my credit card so we never heard from them as we wandered around. In between trying on clothes and changing stores, Bee would tell me about Cybertron. There was a time before the war when there was peace, but Bumblebee hadn't been apart of it. He told me he was just a sparkling when he came into the middle of the war. All he knew was fighting and what he'd heard about the peaceful Cybertron, which almost seemed like a myth to him. I could tell that it bothered Bee that all he knew was war, but he never complained. He always did what he could to please everyone. Eventually I wrapped my arm around him as we were walking. He didn't say anything, but he put his arm over my shoulder and brought me a little closer, at least now I knew he wanted the contact. After awhile we wondered back into the food court to wait for Sam, Mikaela, Jo, and Riley to finish up. They didn't show up for a long time though, so Bee and I got to spend quite a bit of time talking with just the two of us.

And that's when everything went down the drain.

Bumblebee had just gotten into a story about some old friends of his when I spotted a familiar group of boys. They all wore pissed off looks as they made their way towards us. At the speed they were approaching us I started to grow nervous. Bee took notice of my nervousness and looked behind himself. He instantly spotted the group of boys before turning back to me with a questioning look in his eyes.

"Who are they?" he questioned me, glancing at them discreetly over his shoulder. I could tell he was calculating what he was going to have to do.

"They're a group of boys that were picking on Riley. They weren't happy when I interfered and got Riley away from them," I told him, the ringleader of the group locked gazes with me and I couldn't look away. He hadn't been with the boys earlier, and he was much larger than the rest of them. What did I get myself into?

"My friends tell me you interrupted their fun," ringleader spoke once he finally reached Bee's and my table. He put both his hands on the table and leaned towards me. At how close he was, he was definitely in my personal space but I didn't let it show that it bothered me. I just mustered up a dirty look and stared back at him. For a split second I glanced at Bee and could tell he wasn't happy with the situation himself.

"Yeah, what of it? To me it didn't seem like everyone was having fun," I told him nonchalantly. Through my peripheral vision I could see Bumblebee looking between me and this guy. To me he looked stiff, to anyone else he probably looked relaxed, but I knew he was ready to take action any minute.

"Tell me who wasn't having fun? 'Cause I know all my boys were," he said with a chuckle, and leaned on his arms more to come even closer to my face. There was probably about two inches between us at the most. This guy really knew how to get into someone's space.

"A certain blonde I know wasn't enjoying hers-"

"Oh you mean Riley? That chick is a weird one. She's always changing and is picked on by everyone. She's at the bottom of the totem pole. You on the other hand, you could be at the top with me if you like." The guy reached out and started to stroke his hand up and down my arm. No thoughts crossed my mind as I froze up, like a rabbit about to fall prey to the predator. My heart in my chest started to pound harder as I stared at the boy wide eyed.

"Back off!" Bumblebee's voice broke the silence, as he shoved the guy away from me. Bee put himself between me and this stranger, balling his fists at his sides and looked ready to throw blows. Standing up from me seat, I stepped closer to Bumblebee and put my hands on his back, to let him know I was there. Glancing around I could see many people watching us, yet none of them were doing anything to help.

"Haha what do we have here? The protective boyfriend! Listen shrimp we're just here to have a **chat **with the girl. So why don't you back off!" Bumblebee go shoved, which made me stumble back into the table. The table was low enough that I just ended up sitting on top of it, with Bumblebee's back side pressed against my legs. Bee reached one hand behind him, which landed on my knee, so I put my hand on top of his to reassure him I was fine. The difference in Bee's hologram and mine is, if I get hurt while in this form I feel the pain. Ratchet explained that I'd used it so much that a part of my spark would separate, and be put into this form. So if I got injured, I'd feel it.

"Leave us alone. We're leaving," Bumblebee warned. I took that as my queue to get off the table, but stopped moving when the guy stepped closer.

"What are you going to do? You're nothin' but a little shrimp compared to me," the guy taunted, the muscles in Bee's shoulders tightened up and I could tell he was going to throw a punch. I scooted back from Bumblebee so he had plenty of room.

"Fine, you asked for it." And with that Bee threw a swift and powerful right hook. The guy didn't even have time to process what happened to him, because he ended up on the ground staring at the ceiling groaning. He seemed like he still had consciousness, but he might lose it here pretty quickly. The guys little lackeys seemed too stunned to do anything and just stared at us with shocked expressions and their jaws hanging. It was at that moment that Bumblebee tugged me off the table, wrapped his arm around me, and steered us away.

"Now would be a good time to head back home," Bee mumbled into my ear, I couldn't help but blush. I agreed with him and pulled out my cell phone to call Jo. Jo got a brief version of what happened and agreed it was time to go. So we all met up and headed out to the parking garage. We ended up giving Riley a ride home because she couldn't get a hold of her parents to come get her. Plus she had a few bags of stuff that she bought. Jo had convinced her to get a couple of things because she knew we had plenty of money.

Once Riley was gone, and cell phone numbers were exchanged, we headed back to the garage. At the moment I didn't feel like straying too far from Bumblebee, so I just followed close behind him. Today had its ups and downs, but for the most part it was good. My thoughts were going to be plagued with the conversation I had with Riley though…


End file.
